This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2004, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Sen. Orrin Hatch will be going for an unprecedented sixth term in two years.

Former state Republican Party executive director Dave Hansen tells us he has been hired to run Hatch's 2006 re-election campaign.

Hansen this year ran the gubernatorial campaign of Fred Lampropoulos, who went from a virtual unknown to a third-place finish among eight candidates at the GOP convention.

Hansen's move to the Hatch campaign assures that Lampropoulos will not run for the Senate, as some had speculated. But don't rule him out for a 2nd Congressional District bid in two years if Republican John Swallow fails to unseat incumbent Democrat Jim Matheson this year.

If the 70-year-old Hatch wins, he would surpass Reed Smoot as the longest-serving U.S. senator in Utah history.

Getting petty? Last week we told you about Tim Woodward, who rescued a puppy from traffic on 2100 South, only to have South Salt Lake Animal Control officers come to his work and threaten to arrest him for dognapping after he called the shelter to say he had the stranded dog.

Woodward visited the dog in the shelter several times during the week and was told he could adopt it if no one claimed it by Friday. He showed up at 7 a.m. Friday, but a young woman waiting in her car raced to the door to be first in line when she saw him coming.

Inside, shelter officials told Woodward their "unwritten" policy was "first come, first served," and - much to his disappointment - they allowed the woman to adopt the dog. Woodward believes the woman collaborated with shelter officials in order to snub him after she read about their poor behavior in this column.

Woodward has asked South Salt Lake Mayor Wes Losser to intervene.

Read their lips: Each election year, the First Presidency of the LDS Church has a letter read aloud at the pulpits in all the ward meetings restating the church's political neutrality and urging members to get involved in the political process.

This year, the statement contained a new twist because, apparently, the church has had enough.

Activists pushing for laws getting tougher on undocumented workers made statements that Mormons who are in the United States illegally should not be given temple recommends or hold church positions because they were breaking the law. Another group used the church's name in opposition to a hate crimes bill. And church principles are now being touted by backers of an anti-gay-marriage constitutional amendment.

The new statement read this month at ward meetings tells political candidates not to imply that their candidacy is endorsed by the church. It also tells members to avoid statements that might be interpreted as a church endorsement of any political party or platform.

Different set of rules: After Brendon Kawakami of Salt Lake City was ticketed for a curfew violation because he was playing basketball at Pioneer Park at 11 p.m., he drove past the park a few weeks later and noticed six Salt Lake City police officers playing basketball at 11:45 p.m.

Armed with his videotape of the officers' late-night game, he went to court last Tuesday to protest the citation. He was told it didn't matter what the cops did and he should pay the $75 fine.

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Paul Rolly and JoAnn Jacobsen-Wells welcome e-mail at rolly_wells@sltrib.com